


roundabouts

by archiveofwebs



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Balance!Robert, M/M, Mordechai!Peter, surprise he's alive, this is such a crack fic im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24621139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofwebs/pseuds/archiveofwebs
Summary: The trio wasn’t sure how, but one moment they were running down the hall and the next moment they were all in Elias’ office, said man staring at the newcomer with shock spread across his normally smirking face.Tim was comically moving his head from Elias and the man, and in watching him do so, Martin finally registered the man.Standing next to them, with a sheepish smile, hands clenching around a large sketchbook, stood-“Robert?”
Relationships: Jonah Magnus/Robert Smirke/Mordechai Lukas
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	roundabouts

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my docs since February and I'm tired of looking at it. I thought I could add more but I'm over it. 
> 
> Also I jokingly called this "lonelyarcheyes" as a title and I think that slaps.

Turning a sharp corner, the trio of Jon, Martin, and Tim stopped short at the sight of a man. The man stood with his back to them, his attention focused on the wall that he was staring at. Martin almost raised his voice to tell the man to run, but stopped when he noticed something.

There were no worms anywhere near the man. Instead he was tapping a finger on his chin and humming to himself. If he strained his ears, Martin could hear murmuring. Looking at Jon, Martin sighed as the man had a tape recorder in his hand and was inching closer. Tim just shrugged and followed suit.

“-esting architecture. Not the most thought out but then again the prison is quite a fantastic piece of architecture if I do say so myself. I wonder if oh- hello!” 

In an about face, the man turned and Martin was pretty sure Tim gave a stereotypical fangirl gasp.

“Are you okay, lad? You look a bit...ah…” The man, ghost, hallucination...Martin really didn’t want to know, stood on his toes and looked over Jon.

“I suppose we should run then.”

-

The trio wasn’t sure how, but one moment they were running down the hall and the next moment they were all in Elias’ office, said man staring at the newcomer with shock spread across his normally smirking face.

Tim was comically moving his head from Elias and the man, and in watching him do so, Martin finally registered the man. 

Standing next to them, with a sheepish smile, hands clenching around a large sketchbook, stood-

“Robert?”

Robert Smirke.

-

Elias stared at the man in front of him, reeling with the knowledge that there was a man in his office that looked exactly like  _ him.  _

_ Like their Robert.  _

The man blushed a bright red under his gaze, lifting a finger to scratch at his cheek.

“Ah...I see you that you didn’t heed my words and sided with the Dread Powers, didn’t you, Elias? Is that what I heard you go by now? I could barely make out the sign on the door before we all rushed in here.”

Elias could barely form a sentence, heart thumping wildly in his chest. 

_ He had to tell Peter. _

“...a-Yes. I go by Elias now. Elias Bouchard.”

“I see. Sounds very different from Jonah Magnus, that’s for sure. I see the institute is still very much intact, very happy about that.”

The other three occupants of the room said nothing as Robert walked around the room, fingers trailing lightly over the books on the shelves. He hummed to himself, eyes glancing over titles with interest. As Robert neared his desk, he could feel the incessant stares of The Beholdings’ Eyes lessen, his mind calming down.

“I see becoming Elias has made you quiet, Jonah! What a lovely surprise! Well...it has been so long since I’ve heard another voice but my own. The prison does have great acoustics, but I can only listen to myself for so long. I will have to go back unfortunately, all my draftings are down there. Hopefully those worms won’t eat them...”

“ _ Robert…” _

“Yes, Elias dear?”

From beyond Elias’s current gaze, there was a choked out sound from someone but he couldn’t care. Nothing mattered. He vaguely recalls asking The Beholding to call for Peter as he moves from behind his desk toward the shorter man. 

“Oh? You are taller than before! What a surprise! Hmm, I hope I haven’t gotten shorter, the Balance didn’t tell me much about what working with it is. Is it getting foggy in here? Elias?” 

Coming toe to toe with the architect, Elias sighed heavily. Unseen by anyone, thousands of Eyes had looked the man over and threw and confirmed that this was in fact, Robert Smirke. 

The same Robert Smirke that had walked out of their lives and died, away from them all, writing a letter to Jonah. 

The same Robert Smirke that had filled their shared room with draftings and elevations. 

The same Robert Smirke that had that same surprised look when not one, but two pairs of arms wrapped around his waist.

_ “It’s you…” _

_ “Robert…” _

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @sassymordechais on twitter!


End file.
